Giants left-hander Jeremy Affeldt’s strained left groin could sideline him for as long as four to six weeks, manager Bruce Bochy announced Sunday.

On Friday it looked like Matt Garza would be pitching in a new uniform by the time his next scheduled start rolled around. But Cubs manager Dale Sveum said he remains confident that Garza will be on the mound for Chicago on Monday.

Jason Heyward didn’t start for the sixth straight game Sunday while recovering from a strain of his right hamstring, but Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez expects to put his name in the lineup Monday in New York.

Wil Myers was not in the Rays’ starting lineup Sunday afternoon against the Blue Jays due to a sore left wrist.

Roy Halladay threw off a mound on Sunday for the first time since having surgery on his shoulder. He threw 20 pitches, all of them fastballs.

The Giants never trailed Saturday night but endured considerable adversity before claiming a 4-3 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks. With their second straight victory over the D-backs, the Giants trimmed the gap separating them from the National League West leaders to 4 1/2 games.

The Orioles piled on Rangers starter Ross Wolf, with Henry Urrutia going 1-for-4 with an RBI single in his big league debut and Miguel Gonzalez tossing 6 2/3 solid innings of one-run ball in the 7-4 series-clinching victory in front of 41,660 at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington on Saturday night.

Hanley Ramirez’s RBI double in the 10th inning capped a 3-for-5 night and brought home the go-ahead run as the Dodgers beat the Nationals, 3-1, for their 19th victory in 24 games. Los Angeles moved to within a half-game of NL West-leading Arizona, which lost to San Francisco.

With Mike Moustakas belting a go-ahead home run, the Royals held on for their second straight victory over the first-place Tigers, 6-5, on Saturday night at Kauffman Stadium. It also was Ned Yost’s 700th managerial victory.

Left-hander C.J. Wilson held the A’s scoreless on three hits over 8 1/3 innings to lead the Angels to their second straight victory over the American League West leaders to start the second half of the season.

Alex Rodriguez was shifted from third base to designated hitter on Saturday for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre due to tightness in his left quadriceps.

Two of Sunday’s games feature matchups between teams’ respective aces, as past Cy Young Award winners and 2013 hopefuls meet in the day’s Ace-Offs.

Giants left-hander Jeremy Affeldt strained his left groin during the sixth inning of Saturday night’s game against the Arizona Diamondbacks and could be headed for the disabled list.

Astros left-hander Erik Bedard no-hit his former Mariners team for 6 1/3 innings on Saturday, but wound up the losing pitcher on a strange night when Seattle pulled out a 4-2 victory despite managing just one hit.

Yovani Gallardo tossed 6 1/3 shutout innings and Jonathan Lucroy delivered four hits and two RBIs, falling a triple shy of the cycle in Milwaukee’s 6-0 victory over the Marlins Saturday at Miller Park.

Kevin Correia pitched six solid frames and Chris Colabello posted his first big league RBI as the Twins topped the Indians, 3-2, at Target Field on Saturday.

Devin Mesoraco couldn’t help being pumped up as the Reds catcher stood up following the 27th out on a 102-mph heater for a strikeout from closer Aroldis Chapman. Not only did the Reds get another big victory over the Pirates by a 5-4 score on a long Saturday of baseball, they achieved the final of many great escapes.